Google's front page Pacman tribute - a fully playable game

Google's front page today pays tribute to the iconic video game, Pacman. It's just 30 years ago today since Pacman was first released in Japan, indicating the warp speed at which gaming has become part of the global social fabric. Fittingly for such a landmark date for a landmark game, Google's front page is more than just an idle tribute – it is actually a fully playable game of Pacman and will be seen around 3 billion times during this 24 hour period.

Pacman's impact upon the emerging phenomenon of gaming cannot be underestimated. Despite being long since dismissed to irrelevance by advances in every aspect of technology and digital involvment, it still has the highest brand awareness of any video game past or present – 94 percent among american consumers and probably higher in Asia.